beauty defined
by mikazukidreams
Summary: The past is never far behind.
1. the mission

**Summary: **The past is never far behind.

_**Standard disclaimer applies here**_

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**Beauty defined**

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_And we all fall down._

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It's hard not to forget how she got here. It's hard not to hate him for bringing her here, for making her the servant of his needs. She's a prisoner in his mansion, with its dark walls and closed shutters and untamed garden, filled with weeds sprouting about. The estate itself is old, dark; emitting off auras of mystery and despair.

She doesn't want to be here at all.

But she has to.

-x-

Tsunade told her that he only wanted her to be there with him. There was no reason for his request, apparently, just the fact that she was his teammate and she was a medic and she could help him. She'd taken the news with shock and accepted like a shinobi, never to turn down anything. After all, Tsunade said that this was the only way that they would reintegrate him back in the village, cooperatively. So she would have to do this, for Naruto and Kakashi-sensei, for the people who still care deeply for _him_.

But she doesn't understand _why. _They'd never been really close, ever, because back then she'd been nothing but an annoying, shallow twelve-year-old girl, and he'd been nothing but a hateful, vengeful, angry boy. Years ago, she'd kill for this moment, to be with him alone… but not anymore. She wasn't like that anymore, nor would she ever be. She'd grown to respect herself; she was stronger and more reliable and more confident than she'd ever expected.

She'd changed.

He'd changed.

But the past is never far behind.

-x-

There's a soft knock on her door, and almost hesitantly a voice demands, "Sakura. Come out. Dinner's ready."

She refuses to answer. It's been two days already, and she's had nothing but the little food she'd packed with her-just a few fruits and a little bit of onigiri. She's starving, really, but she doesn't want to eat with him. No. Not today, not _ever. _She was here like he'd wanted, but that did not mean she would be sitting down and eating meals with him like they were _friends. _They weren't even _acquaintances _at this point.

No… they were merely strangers with familiar faces.

The knock is louder, more forceful this time.

"Sakura. I said come out. You can't stay in there forever," his voice taunts, a deep baritone that rang in the empty halls.

She bites her tongue to prevent herself from snarling a nasty response she knows she will regret later, and silently she curses him away.

"Sakura. Get out here now."

She turns away and looks out the window.

"Sakura, open this door or I'm going to break it down."

_Fine, _she thinks, _like I care._

"Open the goddamn door, Sakura!"

_No._

And then suddenly there's a loud crack and the door, with metal hinges, rips out of the wood frame; and then the door is down, revealing a _very _angry Uchiha.

She doesn't look at him.

"Sakura," he hisses, voice low and dark, "Dinner is ready, and I want you to come out and eat with me."

She doesn't respond.

She hears his footsteps approaching, and refusing to crumble she keeps her head turned in the opposite direction. She feels his cool fingers wrap around her bicep and pull her up, and anger suddenly engulfs her whole.

Like he has the right to touch her!

"Let me go," she snarls, tearing her arm away from him, emerald eyes flashing. "I don't want to eat anything," she spat, plopping down on the bed, promptly ignoring his frustrated face.

He stands there for a while, seemingly contemplating whether or not he should leave her be or to drag her down to the dining room. Finally, with a voice as cold as steel and as quiet as a predator ready to pounce, he says, "Fine. You can just starve here." He turns his heels and kicks the door aside.

"Doesn't matter to me!" she calls back. "This place is like fucking hell anyway."

She really, really hates him.

-x-

It's two weeks in when her food supply runs out, and she sits alone in her room (with the repaired door- he'd come in the day after their fight and patched up the mess he'd made, and left without a word), wondering if it is worth the risk to sneak out to buy some food.

She decides it _is- _just because he wanted her to stay with him, did not mean she was not allowed to go out. So she waits until she's sure he's asleep in his bedroom, somewhere in the depths of his dark mansion, when she slides her window open and leaps out quietly.

As soon as her feet hit the ground, she runs. She runs and runs and runs for what seemed like miles, enjoying the wind in her hair and the warm glow of the setting sun. She breathes in the fresh summer air, smiles as the soft breeze wisps by, and marvels at the illusion of flames, painted across the sky. She finally stops at the local market, and spends more than usual buying groceries and food that she loves.

On the way out of the store, with her arms loaded with groceries, she considers returning home, back to the safety and comfort of her own suite, instead of the gloomy Uchiha's. She wants to, oh so badly, but she can't. For Naruto she would do this.

She doesn't have a choice, she realizes, when she finally walks out the door of the grocery store. He's standing not a foot away, leaning against the electric pole. Wordlessly he walks up to her and takes her groceries in his hands, and walks to the direction of his estate, looking behind him to see if she is following.

When she finally falls into step beside him, he murmurs softly, "You don't have to sneak out, you know. You can use the front door." He looks down at all the groceries in his hands- the bags and bags of food she'd spent so much money on- and adds, "And if you're ever hungry, there's always food in the fridge."

She can't help but remark, "I thought you told me I could go and starve." He's trying, she knows, but she can't help it. She doesn't understand why he needs to keep her there with him, when she wants to stay away.

His voice is steady and quiet when he replies. "I didn't mean it."

She isn't sure if she likes how soft and genuine he sounds. It's not like him at all.

-x-

A month passes before she knows it, and things are relatively the same. She eats with him some of the time, but for the most part she eats alone; it's more of a matter of pride than anything else, since he _was _an excellent cook. They talk for a little bit- little scraps of dialogue here and there, mostly chatting about general things. Never about family or friends or even their feelings… just simple, harmless things, like the weather.

It's the first day of spring when she returns from her morning grocery shopping and sees, for the first time, a splash of colour in his mansion. He'd bought a bouquet of flowers- of all sorts and shapes and colours, and placed them in a pretty crystal vase in her room by the window. She stares wondrously before turning away.

He's not home that day, having gone to a meeting with Tsunade and the village leaders. She takes advantage of this time to explore the house. She'd never seen any parts of the house, besides the spacious room he'd given her.

Setting down her groceries on the kitchen table, she pads softly to the unexplored rooms of the mansion. She stares at the beautiful, yet dusty, paintings that cover the walls of the house. In a large room by the living room was a wonderful library, filled with scrolls and medical texts she'd never ever seen before in her life. She looks at the tattered garden, surrounded with gray-black rocks that give it a little dark beauty. She stares at the breathtaking sight of the clear lake in the back of the estate, bluish ripples creasing the surface of the water.

Last but not least, she wanders into his room. As expected, it's tidy and neat and dark, just like the rest of the house, but in his bedroom- and like every room she'd explored in the house- there lay a sense of sadness and longing.

His bed is covered in navy blue sheets and blankets, neatly folded at the end of his bed.

The things that catch her eye are the pictures, all placed in new frames, sitting on his bedside table. There's the team photo of all of them, back when they were twelve and naïve; there's a photo of Sasuke as a little child, hugging a young Itachi; and finally, a family photo, where Sasuke is smiling in front of his family.

Sakura feels her heart melt, just a little.

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_To be continued…_

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**Note:** I was in a disney mood today, and as a result here's my sasusaku version of beauty and the beast.

Enjoy!

-A


	2. storm

There are days when he is out training with Naruto and the house is quiet, and she is left alone with her thoughts. The curtains are always drawn and it's dark in the house, silent and eerie, and she so often wonders if it will ever feel like home. There are days she wonders how different their lives would have been had things been, well, different.

If he'd stayed; or if any of this tragedy between Team Seven's past had ever occurred.

Some days she likes to think of her parents- how supportive they'd been in her decision to become a kunoichi, how proud they'd been when she was made Tsunade's prized pupil, how caring and loving they were of her, her entire life. Sometimes she thinks of how blessed and selfish she really is; she thinks of how he and Naruto never had the luxury she always took for granted.

Naruto, who'd lost his parents right after he was born- how he'd been kept in the dark, branded like an outsider for being a monster, for being something that he had no say or control over. She remembers the way he acted in their days at the Academy; he was so mischievous back then, always playing pranks that angered the villagers. She wasn't any better than the harsh critics then either- she'd seen and judged Naruto's actions from the surface, without really seeing why. How hurt he was without a mother or a father. How lost he was without _knowing _who his parents were. How angry and upset he was back then, when people made assumptions about things they didn't know.

And him. How different would things have been for him, she so often ponders, had the Uchiha tragedy never occurred? Her mother, Mebuki Haruno, told stories of Kushina Uzumaki and Mikoto Uchiha, friends she'd made from their academy days. Mebuki would often mentioned Sasuke, in manner recalled from a loving memory- _'What a cute boy he was,'_ she'd say, a gentle smile swept across her face, _'Such a sweet and happy boy. Mikoto raised him well… it's so heartbreaking knowing that what happened changed him; such a sweet boy with so much love for his family.' _

Although she's still a little angered that she is kept at the Uchiha estate like some kind of prisoner, she can't help but to feel a little sympathy for him. He'd lost his parents, who were his world, and killed his brother, only to find out everything Itachi did was for _him. _He'd lost the family that'd been there for him, and the person that loved him above everything and anything else in the entire world. In a sense, he'd lost everything, too. She'd been kinder to him since she stumbled upon the family photos he kept hidden in his room- underneath all that cold indifference, he is still suffering.

She doesn't tell him though, because she knows he will not be pleased to find out that she had been leafing around in his room. It'd been his territory, something he'd made very clear the first day she went to stay with him.

So she keeps her mouth shut and keeps on a stoic expression, because he doesn't need to know she knows.

-x-

"Are you happy there?" Ino asks one day during their usual girls' night out, and she's surprised by the question. It's a simple question, with a 'yes' or 'no' answer, but she doesn't really know.

It's not that she doesn't trust these girls- Tenten, Hinata, Ino, Karin- but she doesn't trust herself to answer the question truthfully. Is she happy? Sure, she and Sasuke are on better terms now compared to a couple months ago, but she still yearns for the safety and comfort familiarity of her own home.

Instead, she smiles- a light smile of not happiness or sadness, but rather resignation, and says, "I'm used to it by now."

That's the most truthful answer she can muster up right now; and it's also an answer her friends seem to accept. They all nod their heads, and they continue on their bickering and laughing and talking, as if the question had never been brought up. She's in it too, because there's never too much happiness in the Uchiha estate. The bright colours that define her, the roaring laughter of her friends, the comfort of having her friends all around her- this is when she feels happiest, and she takes advantage of this time; because it is moments like these that keep her going for the rest of the month.

-x-

The first he asks her to heal him is when he returns from a vigorous with Naruto, with his outfit burnt and shredded and bloody cuts slashing down his arms and body. His voice is low and demanding when he limps in the front door of the gloomy house and says, "Heal me."

Being a medic, she knows that she is to help anyone that is injured and in need, but he asks for her help in such a harsh tone that she replies, with sarcasm, "Could you be any nicer?" It's not right to do that, when he's so badly hurt, but she can't help it. She can't help being snarky towards this boy- _man? _\- even though it's been five months.

"Sakura," he seethes, eyes dark and angry, almost menacing; she can tell he's not happy with her rebellious attitude.

But she's seen and knows enough of this boy to know that he has manners, manners taught by his mother; manners taught in this very house, even. So she narrows her eyes and stares him down. She's shorter than he is, petit and lean, but she'll be damned if she backs down to this arrogant attitude from a boy that's taken her prisoner.

She hasn't forgotten.

"Excuse me?" she sneers, hands on her hips and adrenaline raging through her veins. She's not going to deal with this attitude. "Your manners, _sir?" _She smirks in self-triumph when the dark-haired boy take a step back, just barely but there, as his onyx eyes widen just a fraction. A scowl quickly replaces the shocked expression that'd been there just moments ago, and his mouth turns downwards in what could be a frown, or even a pout.

"_Please," _he grinds out, and she smirks even wider. He says it like it hurts to say that one word, but she doesn't care. Screw his pride right now- she's enjoying this.

"Please, _what?" _she continues, eyes narrowing, unwavering under his frustrated glare.

His tone is forced and furious when he says, "Sakura, may you _please _heal my wounds, _thank you very much." _He's a little out of breath, she notices, and his face is bright red; it could be from his anger (which she provoked, but no matter) or from the pain. Her face softens.

"Sit down," she demands, voice full of authority but kinder than it had been just seconds before, and he wanders over to the living room couch and sit down, wincing.

She's quick and efficient in healing his wounds; although she'd been off of her hospital shift for almost half a year, her medic instincts come to her like second nature, hands glowing with a soothing green chakra as they move across the hard muscles of Sasuke's body.

It only takes minutes before he's fully healed.

She's expecting some kind of cruel remark or even some sarcasm from the Uchiha boy when she's done, but instead he stands up abruptly and says quietly, "Thank you."

He turns his heel and stalks back to his room, while she stares at his retreating back. Her breath is leaving her in shallow gasps and a knot she'd been unaware of in her heart constricts as painful memories flood into her mind.

Park bench. Midnight moon. _Thank you, Sakura. _Coldness. Black. Goodbye.

_Oh, no._

-x-

There's a roaring storm outside, with streaks of lightning and black ominous clouds of rumbling thunder rolling across the skies of Konoha. It's rare, having storms in Konoha, where the weather is normally sunny, but she doesn't mind. She likes storms.

He's out with Naruto again today, training, and she wonders when he will be back. Will he walk home through the pouring rain and thunderous booms, or not?

She concludes that he'll probably stay at Naruto's for a while, or in some kind of shelter nearby; he's not quite as foolish as to walk a long distance home during such a dangerous storm. She takes this time alone to wander around the house again; as if it hadn't been dark enough already, the storm raging outside made the place look more eerie.

She always ends up in his room, somehow. There's something about his room that draws her in; there is some kind of lingering sadness that she so desperately wishes to cast away, for some strange reason. She wants to pull back the curtains on a sunny day and let the sunlight stream in. She wants to clean the walls and paint them again, replacing the chipped paint with a fresh new layer. She wants to bring out the green plush dinosaur she'd found in his closet and wash it and place it on a shelf in his room. She wants to bring some form of happy in this room, in _his _room, because she feels it lacks happiness the most.

She doesn't know why exactly, but it feels like the right thing to do.

The pictures draw her in again, and she pads over to the bedside table, picking up the old family photo in the new frame. It's her favorite picture of Sasuke because he looks so happy in it, so relaxed and carefree.

She's so caught up in her thoughts that she fails to see him walk in, dripping wet, until he's right behind her.

"Oh!" she says, surprised, and turns around. "I didn't see-"

"What are you doing here?" he snarls, voice dripping with malice. He's beyond furious, she can tell, by the way his body is tense and his hands are clenched into fists. She opens her mouth to reply, to say something, anything, but he doesn't give her a chance.

"Give me that," he hisses, snatching the photo from her hand and slamming it down on the table; the edges of the frame crack under the hard force.

She winces as he takes a step forward, despite herself- she shouldn't be afraid, but she is. She's terrified right now.

His eyes flash red when he sneers, in a tone she'd never heard from him before, ever. "Get the hell out. _Get the hell out!" _

And suddenly her feet move before her mind processes the words, and she's pushing her way past him to the front door. She doesn't bother getting her things, she doesn't bother putting on a jacket; all she knows and wants it to leave. To get out. Away. Far away.

"What do you think I've wanted to do this whole time?" she screams back at him, yanking the front door open. "_You _brought me here, you jackass! You fucking arrogant selfish _jerk_!" She's greeted by the vicious storm as soon as the door opens, but she doesn't care.

Away, far away. Go.

As soon as her feet hit the ground outside, she runs.

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_To be continued…_

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**Note: **Chapter 2...Tell me what you think!

-A


	3. change

The wind is blowing fiercely in her direction, directing the cold rain into her face. Her pink hair is now an absolute mess, but she doesn't care. Adrenaline is flowing through her veins like fire, blocking out everything else. It's the only thing that's keeping her going right now.

Her energy eventually burns out, and she falls to her knees. The storm is still raging on all around her; the sky black, the weather cold. She can't even tell where she is- is she by the hospital? Perhaps the village square? Ichiraku's? The darkness encloses in before she knows it, and desperation sets in. She wants to go _home. _

She doesn't even realize that she's crying until she tastes the faint saltiness of her tears as they pour down her face, and she's so exhausted she doesn't even want to get up. Wearing nothing but a thin t-shirt and short shorts, she knows she'll get terribly sick if she doesn't find some shelter out of the storm soon, but her limbs feel like lead and instead she just lies down on the hard ground.

_Maybe I'll wake up and this'll just be a dream, _she thinks, as the rain blurs her vision and her mind slowly slips away from consciousness. _I'm going to wake up in my own bed and this- this is nothing but a nightmare._

But still the lightning, bluish-gold as it streaks across the pitch black sky, still snap like a shock and the thunder still boom with deafening beats. She counts.

Flash. _One, two, three, four, five six, seven, eight. _Boom. Flash. _One, two, three, four, five, six… _

Her mind slips into unconsciousness.

-x-

She wakes up to the warm rays of the sun hitting her face. There's a lovely melody in the air, sung by birds she can't quite see.

Actually, she doesn't even know where she is.

A light yawn escapes her lips and she sits up, and something falls onto her lap. Her vision finally adjusts and she sees that it's a navy blue washcloth. Her green eyes widen in shock as she registers her surroundings- the glittering vase sitting by the window ledge, catching the sun's rays in a dazzling rainbow; a sturdy chestnut brown door; a thick pale blue comforter covering her slim body.

She's back at his house- or is she? Did she even leave at all? Her head is pounding and her muscles ache, and suddenly she feels tired again.

A light tap interrupts her thoughts, and the door creaks open.

More specifically, a deep chestnut brown door; and it's then when the previous night's event comes hurtling back at her, a forceful memory that nearly knocks the wind out of her.

She's about to rip off the sheets and _run _when he walks in softly, bringing in the faint scent of fresh soap and shampoo which lingers in the air. He's carrying a silver food tray, adorned with colorful, fresh fruit and a delicious-looking breakfast. He's still dressed in his pajamas, much to her surprise, and his hair is a wild mess- either from the lack of sleep he'd gotten, or from constantly running his hands through it in agitation.

"Hn," he starts, standing at the foot of bed almost awkwardly, holding the tray and just staring at her. She tenses under his gaze, and silently she prays he doesn't notice.

He pads over to the side of the bed and places the food tray down by the table in the room, and walks closer to the side of the bed.

"Your breakfast is ready," he finally says, after a long period of silence. He extends his hand to help her up, but she recoils instantly, memories of how angry, how absolutely _terrifying _this boy could be.

"What am I doing here?" she seethes, backing away from him and throwing off the blankets. Somehow she's wearing an old shirt of his, along with a pair of his old shorts.

She gapes in surprise, before turning a furious eye on him in horror. "What am I doing here?" she says again, voice louder and angrier than the first time. She tugs hard on the too-long navy blue shirt covering her body, decorated with a large Uchiha symbol on the back. "Where are my fucking clothes? What the hell did you do?"

He narrows his eyes, unpleased with her attitude, she can tell. He was never one to tolerate bad attitude, anyway. But she doesn't give a damn right now, because she wants out.

"You were passed out in a puddle in the rainstorm!" he snarls, a nasty, smug tone. "I saved your ass, be grateful! You _stupid_ girl, running out in a storm like that!"

"I wouldn't have been in the storm if you hadn't yelled at me, you arrogant prick!" she snaps back, just as vicious.

"I wouldn't have yelled at you if you hadn't been sneaking around in my room! I told you to stay out!" he retorts, but she's ready.

"Well you know what? Maybe if you hadn't dragged me here to live with you, this never would've happened! You could've chose Naruto! But _no, _you chose _me, _and you don't even have a reason? I wouldn't have been looking in your room if you didn't bring me here in the first place, so shut _up._" By then, she's facing him and he's facing her, both of them with their faces red and flushed, adrenaline pumping hard.

They both stare at each other for what seems like eternity before he says, oh-so-quietly, "There is a reason I want you here. And you're right about all these things. I'm really-" he cuts off, and takes a deep breath, "I'm really sorry about last night. I-I shouldn't have yelled at you. I shouldn't have scared you. I'm sorry."

She's staring at him now, in absolute wonder. In all her years of knowing this mysterious, stoic boy, she has never before heard him say those words to anyone, and never so sincerely. He's looking at her now, dark eyes boring into her light ones, a sliver of desperation flashing through.

She realizes she has a choice: she can either stay and finish her mission, patch things up with this boy, and forgive and forget, or she can takes this opportunity to walk away from him, and never look back.

…She decides to stay.

Not just because of Naruto, or Kakashi anymore, but for the sake of the entire team, including her.

So she merely looks down and says, "I know."

-x-

After she showers and cleans up, she carries her food tray to the kitchen and listens when he explains what happened the night before. It's nice talking to him like this, just the two of them. There's no uncomfortable silence, no waves of tension rolling between them. It's a fresh start, for both of them.

"I ran after you," he's saying, as she munches on her breakfast. "I didn't know where you went and it was dark, but then I found you unconscious in a rain puddle, freezing."

"I was scared," she admits, because it's true. "I didn't look where I was going. I just knew I had to get away."

They talk for a little more before she's finished and ready to clean up. Only then does she realize it's well past noon and he's still here.

"Aren't you training today?" she asks, drying the plates as she speaks.

He shakes his head. "No."

"Okay," she says. Suddenly, a bright idea comes to her.

"Okay!" she says, "I know what we can do! Makeover!" When he looks at her confused, she adds, "We're going to fix this house, and we're going to clean until the floor shines and the glass sparkles, you hear? It'll be fun."

To add effect, she walks over to the closest window and flings open the curtains, allowing sunlight to stream freely into the darkened room.

"Let's get this done!" she says, "It's time for change."

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_To be continued…_

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**Note: **I am currently half asleep as i type this. i hope you enjoy it so far, and let me know!

xoxo

-A


	4. in with the new

Sakura likes to believe she understands Uchiha Sasuke well, but it is not until she steps a foot outside with him does she realize just how patience the young Uchiha boy is. She recalls the way he would go out to get groceries or weaponry— he would always be back in a mere hour or so. She used to think it'd been because Sasuke is man of efficiency, but now she realizes that it is more than just that.

She drags him to a paint store in the center of Konoha— and along the way, she can feel the cautious, prodding eyes of the villagers on the quiet Uchiha boy walking beside her. His eyes are cold and his expression is closed off— and ever since they step foot off the Uchiha grounds, the tension hasn't left his shoulders.

She doesn't know how she had managed to drag the Uchiha out of the house, but she suspects that he still feels guilty for yelling at her the night before. The rosette has already forgiven him, but Sasuke is a man of self-doubt when it comes to issues like such— but she doesn't mind, because it'd only taken a bit of grumbling before the obsidian-eyed boy mumbled, "Fine. Let's go."

The grumbling, she muses, definitely had to do with the looks and whispers that arise when Sasuke walks among them. Since they'd been teammates since they were young, she knows Sasuke is not someone who enjoys being locked up inside— he'd much rather be training— but the judgmental looks from the villagers are not exactly _welcoming_…

For a minute, a brief minute, she allows her heart to ache for this boy— who is, despite his outward demeanor, trying hard to gain back the trust of the villagers. The sadness lasts only for that brief minute, though— because she is Haruno Sakura and she has things this boy has lost tragically, and there is no reason for her to be sad.

Instead, she grips Sasuke by the wrist and smiles, ignoring the startled look that flashes across his pale face, and tells him, "C'mon, slow poke. We're almost there."

Although he doesn't return her smile, she can see the faintest twitch on the corner of his mouth and some tension leave shoulders. "Hn."

She rolls her viridian eyes at him and grins to herself. It's not much, but it'll do for now.

-x-

"Ne, Sasuke," she says, flipping through the available colours, "Do you have any colour schemes in mind for your walls?" He shakes his head stiffly. Ever since they'd entered the shop, Sasuke had immediately tensed up _again, _and had not uttered a word. Sakura looks up and sees the boy standing still, stoic, before turning to the other two people in the shop.

She knows the elderly couple that owns the store well. Ayaka and Tadashi Maki are kindly, always inquiring about her day whenever she sees them— and not to mention they are frequently at the hospital for check ups.

"Ayaka, would you mind helping me?" Sakura flashes the elderly lady her best smile and the gentle lady smiles in return.

"I'd love to," Ayaka replies, walking out of the counter towards the two shinobi. She turns to her husband, who is standing on a ladder stacking paint, "Be careful, Tadashi. I can't have you breaking your hip again."

"I'm _fine_," Tadashi huffs in return, but Sakura senses no hostility in the elderly man's voice. Instead he sounds light, teasing his wife for worrying over him.

"Alright then," Ayaka says, before turning to the pink-haired girl. "What do you need help on, my dear?"

"We're hoping to repaint the Uchiha house," Sakura says pleasantly, as she sees the dark eyes of the shop owner flit to Sasuke's tense figure before returning to her face, "and I was wondering, since I have no experience in this, what colour would look best on the walls? I'm thinking that I might go with the maroon and beige look, but what do you think?"

The elderly woman considers the paper between Sakura's fingers before responding, "I think that that is wonderful, Sakura, but this colour," she picks out a colour card that Sakura is holding, "might be too dark. Try the lighter shade, like this—"

Ayaka's voice is cut off when Sasuke's voice hisses out, "Watch out," as the young Uchiha lurches forward, snatching Tadashi as he falls backwards off the ladder, before catching the paint cans that'd tumbled off the shelf with incredible speed. He sets them on the floor carefully before turning to the old man. "Here."

The look on Ayaka and Tadashi's face causes Sakura to bite her lip— they are looking at Sasuke with wide eyes and gaping mouths, and the rosette can sense the Uchiha getting uncomfortable. She is about the break the silence when the elderly man bows down in gratitude; she watches in surprise as Ayaka follows.

"Thank you very much," Tadashi says, a smile on his wrinkled face.

"Yes," Ayaka says, a beautiful smile stretching across her aged face. "Thank you for helping my husband, and I deeply apologize for my husband's stupidity."

"Hey—" Tadashi interjects, "I wasn't—"

He is shushed immediately by his wife's blazing brown eyes. "I _told _you to be careful! Do you remember _how _many times you've fallen off that ladder carrying paint you _know _is too heavy for you? How many times do you want the lovely Dr. Haruno here to fix your hip?" She turns back the Sasuke. "Thank you."

Sasuke turns his head, muttering "Hn," but Sakura sees the faintest tinge of red brushing on his cheeks.

"Please accept this as a token of our gratitude," Ayaka says, carrying out a large can of the light beige paint that she had just recommended to Sakura.

"Oh, no," Sakura says, waving her hands. "We can't—"

"I _insist." _Ayaka says. "You have done so much for us old people and the Uchiha boy just saved my husband from another broken hip, it's the least we can do for you."

After much debating between the Makis and a bright-eyed Sakura, she reluctantly takes the paint. "Thank you so much," she says one last time before exiting the shop, Sasuke close behind her.

"No, thank you," Tadashi says and the elderly couple wave them goodbye. "Come back if you run out of paint, we have lots here for you!"

"Will do!"

Finally back on the street, Sakura looks up at Sasuke with the brightest smile she's had since— well, a long time.

"They like you," she says, happy. Ayaka and Tadashi held a high stature among the elderly folks in Konoha, and if they liked Sasuke— well, perhaps the other villagers will come to accept him again, too.

"Hn," is the only reply she gets, but she knows that underneath his cold exterior, he is secretly content as well.

-x-

They spend the rest of the morning going from place to place in the village buying new supplies to decorate the Uchiha house with.

Sakura notices with happiness in her eyes that Sasuke becomes less and less tense as they stroll through the village— she can tell it is the first time in a very long time that he has been able to do this, to walk amongst the other villagers with the slightest ease. While he is not _completely_ at ease, he seems more comfortable than he'd been at the beginning of the shopping trip.

They head to many stores Sakura had never had the time to explore herself— the fabrics store, where she finds the most magnificently beautiful maroon set of curtains; the general store, where she hounds Sasuke on buying more cleaning supplies (he ends up buying them with little complaints), and decorations she thinks will look great in the house. While she sends Sasuke off to the gardening store to purchase flower seeds and gardening tools, she sneaks off into the woodcraft store.

The old man behind the counter introduces himself as Takumi, a woodcrafter who had been working in this shop his entire life.

"What would you like, pretty girl?" he asks her when he sees her looking at the wooden picture frames displayed on the shelf.

Sakura looks at all of the different frames lined up on the wall, and wonders which one would be best for Sasuke. She cringes as she recalls Sasuke angrily slamming down the frame of his old family photo— she'd had it set in her mind that she'd get a new one for him.

"I'm not sure," she says, smiling apologetically at the old man. "It's going to be a gift for a friend of mine, you see, since he broke the frame of a very precious photo."

"Well, why don't you tell me what your friend is like? I may be able to help."

Despite her initial anger at Sasuke, for bringing her into this mission without telling her _why _and her initial thoughts of hatred of him— despite the fact that he'd yelled at her just the night before, causing her to flee in fear, she couldn't help the next words that tumble out of her mouth.

"He is a sad, broken boy," she says, words flowing out naturally. "He is angry, he doesn't like to talk, and he has a _horrid _temper. But," she smiles, "he is great when he needs to be. While he may not always be there for you, he will put his life on the line to protect you. He doesn't like to talk because he doesn't like to burden people with his pain. He is intelligent and caring; people just don't see that when they look at him because he always looks cold. But he's not."

"Ah," Takumi responds, his deep grey eyes twinkling with something Sakura can't quite distinguish. "You do have deep feelings for this friend of yours."

Sakura's viridian eyes widen before she blinks away the startling bluntness of the man's words. "…I suppose I do," she says.

"If you don't mind me asking, what is the name of this lad?"

Part of her wants to lie and make up a name, any name that is not as tainted as the one she is thinking, but she knows it is better off if she tells the truth. She braces herself for the old man's reaction before she opens her mouth and responds, "Uchiha Sasuke."

"Okay," is all the old man responds, standing up, finding a piece of paper and scribbling a few words down. "Come back tomorrow at this hour, and I'll have a frame ready for you." Noting the girl's surprised speechless expression, Takumi chuckles, "If you believe that he is a great man, he must be. Rumors are rumors, young girl, but you seem to know the Uchiha boy well. I believe you. Come back tomorrow, I will have one custom made frame ready, just for you."

Sakura clamps her gaping mouth shut as she fumbles for her wallet. "How much will that be?" she says, pulling out ryō.

"On the house," the old man proclaims, smiling fondly at rosette. "It is not often I meet a young lady who believes in the light in people as you do. I will give you this frame to place your friend's precious photo in, in hopes that he will see this and he will remember the light during his dark times."

Sakura can barely keep her tears in as she bows deeply, thanking the old woodcrafter over and over again, and with a final wave, exits the store in promise to return the following day.

-x-

"Where were you."

She is immediately greeted with a blank-faced Uchiha as she steps out of the shop. Much to her delight she sees that he has picked up the gardening supplies that she has requested him to; in his arms are multiple bags containing their purchases of the day. "How did it go?" she asks. His shoulders lift a fraction of an inch before dropping. She smiles, because that is closest Sasuke will get to '_it went good_'.

Glancing at the mountain of bags in Sasuke's arms and noting the inquiring look he had on his face, because she hadn't answered his question yet, she simply responds with, "Let's go, Sasuke."

"Hn," he says, turning and heading back on the path leading to the Uchiha estate. Smiling contently, she follows.

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_to be continued…_

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* * *

**note:** hey, it's been a while.

tell me what you think!

-Alice


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